Peer to Peer Magazine

PEER TO PEER: THE QUARTERLY MAGA ZINE OF ILTA BEST PRACTICES 12 innovative when they're together." As leaders looking ahead to the future, we cannot afford to be solely "productive" OR "collaborative and innovative". Ensure that your IT organization has the means to excel in all three areas: productivity, innovation and collaboration. That is what the future will require of us all as we manage an increasingly virtual workforce. or hot-desking also remains an option, where several employees share the same physical office space on alternating days, but retain individual phone extensions and voice mailboxes. The physical space could either be at one of the firm's existing offices or in a less expensive, offsite location. TIPS FOR SUCCESS Whether you have occasional telecommuters or a vast virtual workforce, here are tips for making telecommuting work for your firm now and in the future: • Use enabling technologies (desktop video cameras, headsets, instant messaging tools, etc.) so the remote worker feels like part of the team. Within Ballard's IT group, if one member of a functional team works remotely, we outfit the entire team with such tools. • Set clear and upfront expectations as to how productivity will be measured. Short of actual time-tracking, perhaps ask for a weekly or bi-weekly summary of work performed. • Give adequate advance notice when you require the employees to be physically present (e.g., project kick-off meetings, team building exercises, recurring periods such as once per quarter, etc.). Anticipate and budget for these travel- related expenses. • Before lease renewal discussions begin, think about and prepare alternate space plans for the IT department in advance of a formal request from firm management. • Work with your management teams to determine which job functions are eligible to telecommute. Even with these established norms, realize that for some eligible employees, telecommuting might not be a good fit. • Follow the Deming cycle: Plan-Do- Check-Act. Continuously evaluate and re-evaluate what is and isn't working, and tweak as required. If an existing telecommuting arrangement with an employee is not working (and some will not), address it and do so quickly before morale or project delivery is adversely affected. In Mayer's follow-up comments on her controversial decision, she countered, "People are more productive when they're alone, but they're more collaborative and Can you imagine being an emigrant in the early 19th century, hanging over the deck railing of a more than likely overcrowded ship and waving goodbye to friends, family and a home you knew you would never see again? The voyage to America was long and made often by those who had only enough money to pay for passage, with nothing left in their pockets upon arrival. But some found a way to make the train passage west to Missouri and then again for the wagon drive that was the Oregon Trail. How many times have we heard these stories and yet, with the technology we have today, can we really fathom the sacrifice these settlors were making and the risks they were taking? Some were lawyers, leaving comparative security and comfort behind. According to Harvey Whitfield Scott's "History of Portland, Oregon," one of the earliest practicing lawyers in Oregon, Peter Hardeman Burnett (1807-1895), found there was "nothing to do in his profession until some time after his arrival in Oregon and he was therefore compelled to become a farmer." With so many graduating law students today finding "nothing to do in their profession," this sounds painfully familiar. When he was retained by his first client, what technology would Mr. Burnett have availed himself of? The technology of his day all had to do with three things: steam power, horsepower and firepower — ah, for simpler times. But what did those three things really represent? Mobility Flexibility Security The practice of law is facing an uncertain future, with economic power shifting from formerly secure and stable professions to the average consumer. An uncertain future coupled with heavy investment can cause anxiety and fear as we move into the age of data. How will we survive in the next frontier? Taking Peter Hardeman Burnett's fundamental example, keep these three equally important things in mind — mobility, flexibility and security — and we'll do just fine. Learning About the Future from the Oregon Trail by Cheryl Cavanaugh of Baker Newby LLP

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